Council leader welcomes cancelling rip-off credit card charges

Stephanie Bateman

Rip-off card charges will soon be history after Ministers act to end these unfair fees for millions of people across the country.

The government is unveiling new rules across the UK that will mean card-charging in Britain, where people can be charged 20 per cent extra for purchases paid with a credit card, will come to an end in January 2018.

Surcharging is common practice across the country, where business are charging people to make card payments or paying using services such as PayPal. Many industries have acted to accept the cost themselves and not to pass them onto the consumers but these new rules will bring an end to the practice entirely.

The new rules will also tackle surcharging by local councils and government agencies. In 2010 the total value of surcharges for debit and credit cards was an estimated £473 million pounds.

The government has previously capped the costs that businesses face for processing card payments, and will engage with retailers to asses if there is anything else that can be done to help.

Leader of the council, Rob Waltham said: “From January 2018 there will be no more nasty surprising charges for people using their cards whilst shopping.

“These changes will help families across North Lincolnshire with the cost of living by helping them keep more of what they earn and will be able to spend that on the things that matter to them.

“I have triggered an urgent review to ensure that the council removes all such charges going forward.”